14 October 2021

Green-fingered supporters have helped to raise thousands of pounds for Katharine House through the hospice’s Open Gardens scheme this year.

A host of villages and residents have opened up their beautiful private gardens to the public over the last few months, asking only for donations to be made to Katharine House in return.

A whopping £9,000 was raised by participating gardens in Hook Norton, Culworth, Chadlington, Middleton Cheney, Hornton, Churchill, Adderbury and South Newington.

Visitors have been treated to some truly spectacular sights this year. The scheme kicked off in the spring with our wonderful supporters in Chadlington delighting people with their beautiful array of gardens, despite some rather dismal weather. 

July saw the opening Stow Cottage’s stunning 15-acre arboretum and garden in Churchill, followed by a host of gorgeous gardens and allotments in Hornton, which showed off a range of plantings, ponds, water features, vegetable plots and cottage gardens. 

Next, the beautiful 16th-century Grade 2 listed Rawlins House's in Adderbury welcomed visitors to its garden, woodland and orchard. And a week later, nature lovers were treated to a whole host of spectacular open gardens in Middleton Cheney, featuring cottage gardens, climbing roses, knot gardens and water features, to name but a few.

Guests were then invited to enjoy two beautiful gardens in Culworth spread across 5 acres, each with many different types of planting to savour.

Finally, 18 gardens opened up in the picturesque village of Hook Norton where a wide range of gardens were on display, from informal cottage-garden styles to a contemporary eco-friendly roof garden.

And in South Newington, organisers Claire and John Ainley have vowed to keep their gardens, orchards, water features and even beehives open throughout the year and into 2022. 

Community Engagement Manager for Katharine House, Cherida Plumb, said: “To everyone who opened up their gardens for us to enjoy, to the dedicated gardeners who created some wonderful outdoor spaces and to the visitors who came to support the events and donate to Katharine House – a massive thank you to you all!

“The gardens have given a vast amount of pleasure to thousands of people over the years and we’ve been very touched by the enthusiasm of our supporters to open their gardens for us.”

Open Gardens 2022

If any proud garden owners would like to join the Open Gardens scheme next year, please visit our Open Gardens page for more information.

Katharine House Hospice

• To find out more about the work we do, read What we do or explore our For Patients and Families pages.
• To explore our fundraising events, visit Fundraising events, Challenge events and Supporter events.
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